Friday, June 14, 2013

Match fixing

I am amused to see that match fixing has become a
crimeand being a match fixer, a stigma
for life . In good old days, match fixingwas considered a valuable social serviceand fixers wereheld in high
esteem by allespecially those anxious and worriedparents who were on the look out fora ‘suitable match ‘for theirsons and daughtersbeforeit was too late. In the social context, the
match fixer of either gender was a go between ,
credited with uniting two families
through matrimony. I am instantlyreminded of Shankari tai , thematch
fixer in the daily soap“Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata hai “- and what a match
he finds for Akshara! In real life also the services of these
fixers aresought and availed by people
subscribing to the conventional way of life , who do not believe in other
options available these days.

Coming to theCricket match fixers, be it some
of theplayers or the managers or thesponsors or the much maligned speculators aka‘satorias’
or the satte baaz ,
theyhave done irreparable harm and
disservice to the game . It isdisgusting to see players playing to loserather than winin lieu ofsome wadsof currency notes or
maybe some other gratification. This reminds me of the oldBollywood song – chandi ke chand tukdo ke
liye, iman ko becha jata hai…… – sung beautifully by Hemant Kumar . These game
changers take millions of spectators for a ride, whothrong theCricketstadiumafter purchasingcostly tickets orwhoremain glued to the idiot box , making virtualidiots of themselves, watching , who knows ,
may be a fixed match ! Cricket played in
this manner is no longer a game ofglorious
uncertainties butignominious ‘ fixties’.